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Food, Food, Food

Family feast

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Marinated olives
 Makes 2 cups. Serve the oil with bread – a delicious dip!
​

  • 150g Kalamata olives, pitted
  • 150g good quality green olives, pitted
  • ¾ cup (185ml) extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • ½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 small red chilies, seeded
  • several strips of lemon peel
  • 2 garlic cloves, bruised
  • ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 2 fresh thyme sprigs, extra
  • Place the olives, oil, rosemary, thyme, chilies, lemon peel, garlic and fennel in a large saucepan and warm over low heat.
  • ​Transfer to a bowl and marinate overnight at room temperature. 
  • Remove olives from the oil with a slotted spoon and discard the herbs, reserving the oil. Add the extra thyme to the olives before serving. ​
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Easy Artichoke Pizzas
 Serves 10 - 12
 
When you are catering for a crowd, a little ‘cheating’ is perfectly acceptable! Onions can be prepared a day ahead.

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 medium onions, sliced
  • 2 store-bought pizza bases (fresh or frozen)
  • 2/3 cup (160ml) tomato paste
  • ½ cup (60g) grated tasty cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup (100g) drained sliced sun-dried capsicums
  • 10 artichoke hearts, drained, quartered
  • 1/3 cup (55g) pitted black olives, quartered
  • ½ cup shredded fresh basil
  • 1 ½ cups (185g) grated tasty cheddar cheese, extra
  • 1/3 cup (25g) grated parmesan cheese
  • Heat oil in pan, add onions, cook, stirring, until soft. Drain on absorbent paper.
  • Spread pizza bases with tomato paste, top with cheddar cheese, onions, capsicums, artichokes, olives, basil, extra cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese.
  • Bake in a hot oven about 20 minutes or until bases are crisp and tops are lightly browned.
  • Cut into wedges to serve.
  • Cut lamb into thin strips. Pound strips lightly to flatten, cut into 4 cm lengths. Thread strips onto 30 small skewers, about 13 cm long. Place kebabs in a shallow dish; pour over combined oil, juice, garlic, herbs, pepper and mustard. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
  • Drain lamb and reserve marinade. Heat extra oil in a large pan, add kebabs in batches, cook over high heat until lamb is browned and just tender; remove kebabs from pan. Add reserved marinade to pan and bring to the boil. Pour over kebabs – serve warm or cold.​
  • Decorate platter with sliced chilli, capsicums cherry tomatoes. ​
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Miniature Mozzarella and Tomato Puff Pastry Pies
This recipe makes 6 pies. Prepare as many as you need in advance, store them in the fridge, then bake them as your guests arrive.
 
  • 2 x 230g packets of ready rolled puff pastry
  • 1 egg
  • 75g crème fraiche
  • 300g tinned plum tomatoes
  • 75g mozzarella

  • Preheat the oven to 200° and line a baking tray.
  • Roll out the pastry and use a cookie cutter (approx. 10cm in diameter) to cut six circles out of the pastry. Lay them on the baking tray.
  • Crack the egg into a small bowl and lightly beat with a fork, then use a pastry brush to glaze the top of the pastry circles with egg.
  • Cut six more circles of pastry and lay them on top of the first set. This will make sure that the pastries rise up nicely when they cook.
  • Spoon a little crème fraiche on to each pastry round.
  • Drain the tinned tomatoes, roughly chop and add them on top of crème fraiche.
  • Roughly chop the mozzarella and add that too, being careful to leave a 1-2cm wide clear margin around the edges of the pastry.
  • Brush the edges with a little egg, and carefully lay a circle on top, press down the edges to seal the pie. For a decorative touch, do this with the prongs of a fork to help seal it really well.
  • Glaze the top of the pies with egg and set in the oven to bake for 25-30 mins or until golden brown.
  • Best served straight from the oven - warn your guests the mixture inside will be piping hot!
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Smoked Ham with Pomegranate Molasses, Black Pepper and Mustard Glaze
Don’t reserve a ham for once a year – it’s the ideal family feast centrepiece. Pomegranate molasses is the key to this recipe. It adds a sweet tart flavour rather than the sweet glazes often found on Christmas hams. Serve the meat with Dijon mustard, cornichons and extra glaze as condiments for a nice rustic presentation. 
This recipe will serve 6 – 8. For a larger crowd, you will need a whole ham as part of your buffet.
​
  • 1/2 bone-in smoked ham, 2.5 – 3 kgs.
  • 3/4 cup pomegranate molasses
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, plus extra for serving
  • 2 tablespoons whiskey
  • 1 tablespoon ground whole black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Cornichons​ ​
  • Let ham come to room temperature 1 hour before cooking. Preheat oven to 160°C. 
  • Make the glaze: Combine pomegranate molasses, 1/4 cup mustard, whiskey, pepper, allspice and salt in a bowl and mix to blend well. 
  • Place ham, fat side up, in a foil lined roasting pan. Score fat in a cross-hatch pattern at 1-2" intervals without incising the meat. 
  • Generously baste the ham with the glaze. Bake in oven, basting occasionally, until internal temperature of the ham is around 50°C. (about 5 minutes per kilo or to be sure, use a meat thermometer). The ham should be deep golden brown and crusty at this time. If not, increase heat to 230°C. and continue to bake for a few minutes, while keeping an eye on the ham so it doesn't burn.
  • Remove from oven and transfer to cutting board. Let rest 20 minutes before carving. 
  • Transfer remaining basting sauce to a small saucepan and simmer briefly, brushing down the sides, to heat through and burn off alcohol. 
  • Slice ham and serve with Dijon mustard, cornichons and basting sauce as condiments on the side.
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Baked Lemon and Raspberry Tart
Serves 12.
Easy and delicious. If you want to save time, use a commercially prepared sweet pie crust for this recipe.
 
Sweet Pastry
  • 300g plain flour
  • 200g butter, cut into cubes
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons cold water
  • 1 egg yolk
 
Filling
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • ¾ cup caster sugar
  • grated rind of 2 lemons
  • ¾ cup lemon juice
  • ½ cup thickened cream
  • ½ cup fresh raspberries
  • icing sugar for dusting
  • To make pastry: place flour, butter and icing sugar in a food processor and process until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water and egg yolk and process until mixture forms a dough. Mould into a flat shape, wrap in plastic film and chill for 30 minutes. (This recipe makes about twice as much dough as needed – freeze the remainder for another time).
  • Roll the pastry into a 3mm thickness. Line a 24cm fluted flan tin. Chill pastry case for 30 minutes in the freezer. Press a sheet of foil or baking paper over the pastry and into the corners. Fill the foil with flour, rice or pastry weights and bake in a preheated 180°C oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and rice and continue cooking until the pastry is light brown.
  • To make the filling: combine the eggs, sugar and grated lemon rind, add the juice and cream (don’t beat the mixture too much), then strain.
  • Place the baked pastry shell on a baking tray in the oven and scatter the raspberries over. Carefully fill with the lemon mixture. Bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes or until the filling is still slightly runny in the centre. Remove from oven.
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  • IN THIS ISSUE
    • Luxury good of the Silk Road
    • The spread of invention
    • Wildlife of the Tea Horse Road
    • History of the Tea Horse Road
    • Silk Road ships
    • Wu who?
    • The rituals of the Southern Silk Road
    • In your corner
    • Ambient Menu
  • FOOD
  • LIFESTYLE
    • TRAVEL
    • Craft Corner
    • BOOKENDS
    • GARDENING >
      • Flora of Yunnan
  • CONTACT US
    • SUPPORT SERVICES